VN, Bangladesh Agree to Double Current Trade Value by 2020

Viet Nam and Bangladesh have agreed to strive to double the current trade value (US$900 million) by 2020.

The agreement was reached during the bilateral talks between Vietnamese State President Tran Dai Quang and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.

The leaders also discussed on cooperation in such fields like garment and textile, footwear, food processing, and pharmacy while accelerating the establishment of direct air connectivity between the two countries.

The two sides agreed to foster cooperation in other areas such as defense and security, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

The duo also agreed to continue maintaining good coordination at regional and international fora, including the United Nations, the Non-aligned Movement, and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

Viet Nam sought Bangladesh’s support in favour of its candidature for a non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the period of 2020-2021.

Regarding regional and international issues, the two leaders voiced support for maintaining peace, stability, and the rule based order for the seas and oceans, including security, safety, and freedoms of navigation and over-flight, in accordance with international law.

They emphasized on peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, including the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and on observation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and while looking forward to the conclusion of a substantive Code of Conduct (COC).

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in fisheries and livestock for 2018-2020 period, a MoU on machinery manufacturing cooperation, and a Cultural Exchange Program between the two countries.